Congratulations to the following winners – you all get a double pass to visit the vintage fair this weekend. Please email me your postal address asap – or if you prefer, you’re welcome to pick them up from the shop this week.

Not surprisingly, Bates was the most popular character: proving how attractive a bit of mystery and integrity can be. Second up is modern lass in the making, Lady Sybil. A couple of you mentioned Thomas and O’Brien: as awfully behaved as they are, they do provide much of the drama. A little too much drama, if you saw last night’s episode….oh, how I wished for O’Brien to get her comeuppence!

There is so much to love about this show, from the fabulous costumes, wonderful interiors and gorgeous gardens – there’s a lot slew of characters who are all interesting in their way – my favourite is probably the Dowager, Lord Grantham’s mother Violet. Maggie Smith is so wonderfully spiteful – I wish she were on stage, err frame more often! Her nastiness comes more from being used to a life of privilege and having a high opinion of herself. She’s essentially harmless and I particularly like it when she and her daughter in law Lady Cora are in cohoots.

So who are the winners? Carli from Konadlicious for siding with me on the Dowager and Maryanne Kelly for summing up the wonderful qualities of Mr Bates. I also have an extra pair of tickets for Louise Atkinson, for putting in a good word for Matthew Crawley. Well done all of you! Hope you have a wonderful time at the vintage fair.

Photo source – and lots more nice images if you care to look.